Press Release

Hong Kong 'Sees Green' When Banking Online at ASB

Auckland, Hong Kong, 8th May, 2008 - ASB, one of Hong Kong's leading banks, is dedicated to
remaining "one step ahead." Now ASB is making it easier for its online customers to stay one step ahead of
phishers and identity thieves, thanks to advanced security solutions from VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN),
the leading provider of Internet infrastructure for the networked world.

To better shield customers who use its FastNet Classic online banking service, ASB is deploying VeriSign®
Extended Validation (EV) Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificates. VeriSign EV SSL protection offers
FastNet Classic customers using the latest high-security browsers immediate and visible assurance that
they have reached a legitimate ASB Web page and not an impostor site created by identity thieves.
Fraudulent banking sites and pages are a popular scam employed by e-criminals to illegally capture
sensitive personal information, including passwords and credit card numbers.

When a Web site uses an EV SSL Certificate to identify itself, browsers including Internet Explorer 7
and the latest beta version of Firefox 3 display easily understood visual cues to provide tangible
assurance of a site's authenticity. The address bar turns green, a lock icon appears next to the address,
and a new field displays to the right of the URL in the browser. This field contains the name of the
organisation that owns the site as well as the security provider that issued the certificate, such as VeriSign.

"We've always had our eyes fixed firmly on tomorrow, always aiming to be one step ahead with our product
offerings and service," said Peter Muggleston, Acting Head of Technology and Operations at ASB. "Phishing
schemes that surreptitiously lead consumers to fraudulent look-alike bank pages can threaten the trust
that legitimate financial institutions like ASB build with their clients over many years. By providing
FastNet Classic customers with immediate and recognisable verification that they have reached our Web site,
we are preserving that bond. VeriSign EV SSL allows us to deliver not only the protection our customers
demand, but the safe online banking experience they deserve."

"ASB has been a banking leader in Hong Kong for more than 160 years, and today's announcement shows that
its commitment to leadership continues," said Tim Callan, vice president of SSL product marketing at
VeriSign. "Though e-criminals scheme every day to separate Hong Kongers from their hard-earned money,
ASB is working to ensure that FastNet Classic and its clients always remain one step ahead. With the recent
launch of a new VeriSign Web site for Hong Kong, we are delighted to bring EV SSL protection to ASB and
to the Hong Kong market."

As the most respected and trusted SSL authority on the Web, VeriSign is the EV SSL Certificate provider of
choice for more than 3,000 Internet domains, representing greater than 75 percent of the entire EV SSL
Certificate market worldwide. In fact, over 93 percent of the Fortune 500 - and the world's 40 largest
banks - rely on some form of VeriSign SSL Certificate to meet their security needs. To learn more about
VeriSign EV SSL, visit www.verisign.com.hk/ev-ssl

About ASB
ASB has a history of more than 160 years of service to Hong Kongers, and is proud to be one of the country's
leading banks. For the sixth consecutive year, ASB was rated Hong Kong's No.1 major bank in terms of
customer satisfaction in the highly respected University of Auckland survey of residential bank customers.
It was also rated No.1 business bank for the fourth consecutive year in the University's business banking
customer survey. Visit ASB at www.asb.co.nz